“Are you alright?”

“What did he do to you?!”

“He didn’t… force you, did he?”

“Do you know what they’re going to do to us?”

“Will we ever get home?”

“Have you seen what’s outside? Is there any way we can escape?!”

Question after question came at me before I could even come up with a single answer. I tried to calm and settle them down so I could answer their questions. I started with,

“I’m fine. He didn’t force me or hurt me or feed on me. And I don’t think he will. I honestly think that while we’re here at the Blood Shade, our best bet of survival is to stay in Derek Novak’s good graces.”

CHAPTER 14: DEREK

Not long after Sofia left us to discuss whatever it was that Vivienne saw as too confidential for her to hear, my siblings took me on a tour of the island, mainly the Crimson Fortress and how they’d fortified it over the past centuries. What used to be just what it was – a wall surrounding the island – was now home to over three hundred vampire guards and scouts who sought refuge at the Blood Shade and swore to defend it.

At certain key areas of the fortress, there were large stone houses with distinct pointed turrets in front of the buildings that lined the wall. I was told that several of the men and women belonging to the Elite trained for battle and were called Knights. The homes were theirs for times when they were called to duty at the wall.

The Elite consisted of the twenty original clans who swore allegiance to our family. They were those who fought and bled with us, hunted down by shadow hunters until we finally found sanctuary at the Blood Shade. Everyone else – guards, scouts and the lodgers – came only after the wall was built and Cora’s spell was able to provide permanent protection to the Blood Shade.

“Where do most of the human slaves stay?”

“Aside from the beauties that we keep at our homes for our entertainment, all the humans stay at Black Heights.” Lucas’ eyes twinkled at the mention of “the beauties”. My brother always had quite a penchant for beautiful young women.

I raised a brow. “The mountains?”

“We divided the network of caves we found there into the Cells and the slave quarters. Prisoners and newfound human captives – before they are assigned – are sent to the Cells. Humans live at the slave quarters, which they call the Catacombs,” Vivienne explained.

“The Catacombs?” I asked curiously.

“It’s supposed to be irony.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “In the Shade, it is the living who get to reside at the Catacombs.”

I shrugged it off and eyed the height of the wall protecting us. “Everything seems alright. I don’t understand why it is necessary that I wake from my sleep.”

“Things won’t always be alright, Derek,” Vivienne enthused. “The shadow hunters are more powerful than ever. They’re technologically advanced and have the support of wealthy and influential people. The Blood Shade remains undiscovered and safe, but other covens aren’t. The Shade is no longer a secret in vampire communities and other covens have threatened to attack us or expose us unless we take them in or find them a refuge of their own.”

I frowned. These same covens were the ones that shunned us and left us out to die when we needed their help against the hunters. They were then threatening to spill our blood if we don’t save them?

“What have we been doing about this then?”

“As we’ve already told you, father is meeting with the heads of other covens. From the last we heard of him, all covens will be dispatching their leaders or at least an ambassador to arrive here so we can talk further about a compromise.”

“And I need to be awake for these talks because…?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Lucas mumbled.

I gave him a wary glance, wondering how it was possible that he didn’t mature a single bit after all this time. In his head, we were still obviously competing… for what, I had no idea.

“Aside from the fact that you command respect from all the other covens in a way none of us could, they know what you did. They will listen to you,” Vivienne said empathically. “And it’s not just that. I really don’t think that we can keep the Blood Shade a secret from shadow hunters for long. Not even with Corrine maintaining Cora’s spell. The hunters have been wondering where all these vampires have been disappearing to. And with us needing the humans and having to abduct them just to stay alive… that won’t just go away. Investigations are being done by several security agencies about all these missing people. We can’t keep this up for long.”

I clenched my fists, my muscles tensing as I tightened my jaw. “What makes you think that I would know how to fix this, Vivienne? I did my part. I brought you to sanctuary just like your prophecy said. Why can’t someone else take this on? Why not Father?”

“The prophecy was that your reign alone can provide our kind true sanctuary. The Blood Shade has been a sanctuary for a limited number of our kind, but it isn’t yet a true sanctuary until we either find all vampires a safe haven and manage a way to survive without the need of humans or…”

“Or what?” I asked, casting a stern look at my sister.

She said the blood-curdling words I knew she would say. “We have to end the shadow hunters once and for all.”

“You’re talking about war and bloodshed that we can’t even imagine. How long has it even been since the Shade’s guards have been in actual battle?”

All I got from both my brother and sister was silence.

We continued our trek through the island, leaving the issue hanging in the air. It weighed heavily on me for the rest of the time I spent with them. To say that I wasn’t burdened by what I was told was a lie. I didn’t understand why I had to stand as the leader. I was younger than a lot of the men there. That they would look to me for guidance was beyond my comprehension. The fact that it was me they looked to also gained me a lot of resentment from two people – my father and brother. I wasn’t even awake for a full day and already, I found myself exhausted and longing to once again escape.

I was ready to go home and retreat to solitude – not even willing to be around the human slaves I was supposed to keep around me. Even Sofia was a sight I did not want to see. She was so human – a reminder of what I was and who I was before I became so defined by the creature I’d become.

I was already intent on going back to my quarters when Vivienne held my arm and pulled me to hers. She didn’t provide an explanation and led me through her walkways and finally to a room. She pushed it open and revealed an unconscious woman lying at the center of the bed. “She used to be a shadow hunter – one of the newer, weaker ones. She was brought here by one of the lodgers – sort of as payment for us to allow him and his sister refuge here at the Shade.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, unable to deny that the woman splayed on the bed in front of me was attractive.

“I thought you might be tired of drinking blood from a glass and would enjoy feeding on her instead.” Vivienne smiled, pleased with herself.

She knew that the fact that this one was a shadow hunter made the prospect even more appealing.

I licked my lips and stepped forward.

Vivienne took that as approval and stepped out of the room.

“Enjoy,” she said just before she closed the door, leaving me to do as I please with her slave.

There was no hesitation on my part. The darkness in me took over. I was beside the woman, pulling her against me with my arms and sinking my teeth into her neck. The taste of fresh blood, pumping through her veins by a living beating heart, was invigorating. I drank, determined to bleed her dry. I kept on telling myself through all those years that I hated being a vampire, but it was who I was and as I drank from this woman, there was no escaping it.

I sucked the blood out of my young victim and just as I was about to drink the last drop – the one that would cause her heart to stop beating, a moment of clarity came to me. For reasons I could not understand or even comprehend – and I wasn’t sure I even wanted to – I realized that the whole time I was holding this beautiful stranger in my arms, feeding on her, it felt like I was betraying Sofia.

CHAPTER 15: SOFIA

It was impossible not to know that Derek had already arrived at the penthouse. I and the girls – Gwen, Ashley, Paige, and Rosa – were in the kitchen making what we assumed would be dinner. It was hard to tell considering the lack of sunlight, but we all decided that we were starved and based on our estimates of how many hours had passed, it was dinner.

We were actually having a good time. I’d already told the girls that there was no way of escaping – at least not yet – not until we had a solid plan, so we just went through the day trying to do what Derek suggested we do – entertain ourselves. We watched TV, read books, and made plans for what I wanted to do with the extra room Derek allowed me to have. Even the guards, Sam and Kyle, seemed to be enjoying our company. They definitely made no signs of wanting to suck any of us dry.